Late September 1919
The last raid for arms initiated by the Kilbeacanty Company of the I.R.A. occurred sometime about the end of September 1919. There was a retreat in Kilbeacanty Parish Church, and it was planned to go to carry out the raid after the close of the Retreat on the Sunday night. The target was Lord Gough’s gamekeeper, a 58 year old Scotsman named Robert Houston. According to eyewitness reports taken after the event, he was a tough, strong and exceedingly active man. It was reported that he was very wary due to a previous attempt to raid his place for arms, an order carried out by the direction of the battalion officers. It failed because Houston caught sight of the approaching raiders and put up steel shutters which he had for the windows. The raid was abandoned. Houston was reputed to be a very daring man who would shoot without hesitation in case of a raid on his house, a man that would put up good resistance if he got half the chance. He was a dangerous man as far as the raid was concerned. Lieutenant Daniel Ryan had said of him that if any man went into Houston's house wearing a mask he would come out a corpse.
The last raid for arms initiated by the Kilbeacanty Company of the I.R.A. occurred sometime about the end of September 1919. There was a retreat in Kilbeacanty Parish Church, and it was planned to go to carry out the raid after the close of the Retreat on the Sunday night. The target was Lord Gough’s gamekeeper, a 58 year old Scotsman named Robert Houston. According to eyewitness reports taken after the event, he was a tough, strong and exceedingly active man. It was reported that he was very wary due to a previous attempt to raid his place for arms, an order carried out by the direction of the battalion officers. It failed because Houston caught sight of the approaching raiders and put up steel shutters which he had for the windows. The raid was abandoned. Houston was reputed to be a very daring man who would shoot without hesitation in case of a raid on his house, a man that would put up good resistance if he got half the chance. He was a dangerous man as far as the raid was concerned. Lieutenant Daniel Ryan had said of him that if any man went into Houston's house wearing a mask he would come out a corpse.